Red Crescent homework clubs help bring Jordanian and Syrian students together

19 Dec 2016

By Monther Al-Humaidi, Jordan National Red Crescent Society

Afraa Ahmad comes to the homework club in Jordan’s Irbid province each day to do her homework and to meet her friends. The homework club, which is run by the volunteers of Jordan National Red Crescent Society helps Jordanian and Syrian children with their homework, especially with subjects that need special attention such as English and mathematics.

“I have greatly benefitted from the four years of tutoring given to me by the Red Crescent volunteers since my first English class,” says Afraa, who is in fifth grade.

Her peer Islam Khaled says that the homework club has brought the students together, offering them a possibility to get to know each other better and encouraged them to do their homework together.

“My skills in English and mathematics have improved a lot since I started coming here,” Islam says.

For Mohammed Manukh Al-Amri, a fifth grader from Syria, the most valuable help has been tutoring in spelling, writing and mathematics.

“I am happy that the Jordanian Red Crescent has given me a place to study and to play and enjoy myself after we have finished our homework,” Mohammed says.

Jordan National Red Crescent Society volunteers help Jordanian and Syrian children with their homework. For the children it is also a chance to make new friends after school. Photo: Monther Al-Humaidi / Jordan National Red Crescent Society

Besides studying, the homework club also offers the students the possibility to socialize, play and to get to know one another better.

All the volunteers are trained and qualified to help the students with their homework and the activities are run by the volunteers of the Jordanian National Red Crescent Society Irbid and Madaba branches with support from the Danish Red Cross.

The head Jordan National Red Crescent Society’s youth section, Rania Suaifan says it is important that the homework clubs are situated close to the areas where the children live, so that they can visit there after school or during the weekends.

His Excellency Dr Mohammed Al-Hadid, President of Jordan National Red Crescent Society praises the branches and the volunteers who are running the homework clubs and calls for an expansion of this project in order to benefit larger number of students.

During 2015 and 2016, 483 students between 6 and 13 have benefited from the Red Crescent homework clubs in Jordan.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world's largest humanitarian network and is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.